Why upcycled fashion affects

The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. Up to 20% of industrial water pollution comes from textile dyeing and finishing. Nearly 70 million barrels of oil are used each year just to make polyester. And the apparel industry accounts for an estimated 10% of global carbon emissions.

The rise of “fast fashion” has only made it worse. We shop more, buy more, throw more away. Unimaginable quantities of clothing end up in landfill.

Traditionally manufactured products...

...come from factories like these...

...which pollute rivers...

...and destroy seas

Comparison of the Aral Sea between 1989 and 2014 — The sea and local people's lives have been devastated by the cotton industry — Where you shop and what you buy matters!

What we need to remember is this:

Every product that gets manufactured has an environmental impact. Every. Single. Product.

And that environmental impact is shaping our future.

How your future is affected by fashion pollution

Want to know what fashion pollution is doing to the world? Here are just a few things:

Synthetic fabrics shed micro plastics into waterways. These micro plastics end up in ocean life and, in turn, get consumed by humans.

Processing textiles creates heavy amounts of air pollution, contaminating the air we breathe.

Textiles in landfill leach dangerous chemicals into the ground, damaging the earth.

But there is an alternative…

Buy products from ethical brands and

Now for some good news. There are things you can do to change your future. Choosing to buy upcycled is one of them.

If you’re not sure of the difference between recycling and upcycling, here’s a quick rundown:

Recycling is when a product is broken down into its raw materials so they can be used to make something new. While recycling is way better than nothing, extracting and re-processing resources does have an environmental cost.

Upcycling is when a product is creatively repurposed, often while integrating all or some of its original features. With upcycling, there’s no need to break products down first. So quality isn’t lost in the process.